April, 2023

St. John Neumann Catholic Community
Staffed by Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

Current Mass Times

Saturday: 5:00pm

Sunday:

7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 2:00pm (español), 5:00pm

Monday-Friday: 9:00am

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:10pm

Watch a livestreamed or recorded Mass


Confession

Saturday: 10:00am-10:30am (English)

(No Confessions on Holy Saturday, April 8)

Sunday: 3:00pm- 4:00pm (español)

Wednesday (During Holy Week): 6:30pm - 8:00pm

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The Power of Scars

by Fr. Michael S. Murray, OSFS


In the wake of Jesus’ crucifixion and death, the apostles locked themselves away together in fear. They were afraid that they might suffer the same fate as their teacher. Despite their anxious seclusion, Jesus breaks into their lives - not merely into the physical space where they were taking refuge. Jesus also breaks into the core of their minds and hearts. Jesus attempts to calm their fears. He challenges them to be at peace. He does this in a rather confrontational and mysterious manner: by showing them the wounds in his hands and side. 

 

Perhaps this is not so mysterious, however, if understood in the context of a voiceover in the closing scene of the film "Red Dragon:"  

 

“Remember, our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real.” 

 

Isn’t it remarkable that the experience of resurrection did not remove the scars of Jesus’ woundedness: the lasting marks of pain, disappointment, misunderstanding, rejection, betrayal, humiliation, abandonment, suffering, and death? These wounds notwithstanding, Christ’s resurrection powerfully demonstrates that pain, sadness, suffering, and injustice - as real as they are - do not ultimately wield the last word. While suffering was clearly a part of Jesus’ life, there is so much more to Jesus’ life than suffering. After all, Jesus did not love to suffer – Jesus suffered because he loved. 

 

St. Francis de Sales wrote: 

 

“We must often recall that our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance, and that we must work out our salvation by sufferings and afflictions, enduring with all possible forbearance the injuries, denials and discomforts we meet.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 3) 

 

We all bear wounds of failure, misunderstanding, deception, betrayal, disappointment, and loss in one way or another. Our hearts, our minds, our memories – even our souls – bear the scars to prove it. Just like the apostles, we, too, can be tempted to withdraw from God and others, to lock ourselves away in some secluded emotional or spiritual corner, choosing to retreat into the shadows, living in fear of what other pain or disappointments may yet come our way. Of course, in the very act of withdrawing from life, we figuratively – and in some cases, even literally – simply compound our pain. 

 

Jesus clearly demonstrates in his own life that our wounds do not necessarily need to disable, overwhelm or vanquish us. While these wounds may leave permanent marks, they need not rob us of the power and promise of recovery, of renewal - of resurrection - unless we despair, that is, allow the nails of negativity to defeat us soundly. 

 

The wounds of our past certainly leave their marks on our present. However, those wounds – and the scars they leave – don’t have to have the last word. Turn to the love of Jesus, who knows what it means to be wounded and shows us how to move through and beyond our wounds. 

 

Indeed, Jesus’ wounds were signs to his apostles that their past with Him was real. So much more that Jesus’ wounds were promises to his apostles of the even greater reality of the power of the resurrection. 

 

After all, Jesus had the scars to prove it. 


Holy Week at SJN

Sunday, April 2 | Domingo, 2 de abril

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Domingo de Ramos de la Pasión del Señor 


Processions at the 9:30am and 2:00pm Masses

Procesiones en las misas de 9:30am y 2:00pm 


Palms Distributed at all Masses | Distribución de palmas en todas las misas 


Tuesday, April 4 | Martes, 4 de abril

Taizé Prayer | Oración de Taizé

7:30pm


Wednesday, April 5 | Miércoles, 5 de abril

Confessions | Confesiones

6:30pm


Thursday, April 6 | Jueves, 6 de abril

Holy Thursday of the Lord’s Supper

Jueves Santo de la Cena del Señor 

Mass | Misa

7:30pm


Altar of Repose and Adoration de Sales Chapel

Altar de reposo y adoración Capilla de Sales

8:45pm—Midnight


Friday, April 7 | Viernes, 7 de abril

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

Viernes Santo de la Pasión del Señor 


Morning Prayer | Oración de la mañana 

9:00am 


Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion Service

(With Veneration of the Cross)

3:00pm


Teen Stations and Reflections | Estaciones y reflexiones para adolescents

In the de Sales Chapel | en la capilla de Sales

6:00pm


Servicio de Viernes Santo

(Con Veneración de la Cruz) 

7:00pm


Saturday, April 8 | Sábado, 8 de abril

Holy Saturday | Sábado Santo


Morning Prayer and Blessing of Food

Oración de la mañana y bendición de los alimentos 

9:00am


The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night (Bilingual)

La Vigilia Pascual en la Noche Santa (Bilingüe)

8:00pm


Sunday, April 9 | Domingo, 9 de abril

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Domingo de Pascua de la Resurrección del Señor 


Masses | Misas

7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am , 2:00pm (en Español)

Catechetical Corner

Women in Jesus’

Life, Death, and Resurrection

by Jean Lupinacci


Women played a major role in Jesus’ life, from his conception to the proclamation of his resurrection. I learned about this during my Gospel of Luke graduate class taught by Barbara Reid, who wrote Choosing the Better Part? Women in the Gospel of Luke (Lk). Most of the following come from that book. 


Blessed Virgin Mary: Mary’s fiat (yes) to God allowed Jesus to be conceived through the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:38). She is declared blessed by her cousin Elizabeth (Lk 1:45). Jesus performed his first miracle at Mary’s request at the wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-1). She was present at his crucifixion with other Galilean women (Jn 19:25). 


Anna the Prophetess: Anna is the widow who worshipped in the temple night and day, fasting and praying. She was present at Jesus’ presentation in the Temple and spoke about the child Jesus to all awaiting the Messiah (Lk 1:36-38). 


Unnamed Woman: An unnamed woman entered the house of Simon, where Jesus was eating. Unlike Simon, she showed Jesus radical hospitality by bathing his feet with her tears, wiping his feet with her hair, kissing, and anointing his feet with oil (Lk 7:36-50).


Joanna: Joanna accompanied Jesus during his journey preaching and proclaiming the Good News. As the wife of Herod’s steward, she had wealth, status, and influence and gave money to Jesus’ ministry (Lk 8:1-3). She also was one of the women who discovered the empty tomb with Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James (Lk 24:10). 


Susanna and many other women: Susanna also accompanied Jesus on his journeys along with many others not named who ministered and provided resources to the ministry, meaning giving of their time, talent, and financial support (Lk 8:1-3). 


Mary and Martha: Mary and Martha were sisters of Lazarus who were friends of Jesus. They provided hospitality to Jesus when he was near their home (Lk 10:38-42). Some theologians interpret Lk 10:38 to mean that Martha was the head of one of the “house churches.” Martha played a central role in raising Lazarus (Jn 11). Martha professes that Jesus is the Messiah (Jn 11:27). Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, learning from him (Lk 10:39)


The Poor Widow: She gave all she had to Jesus compared to the wealthy who gave from their surplus (Lk 21:1-4). 


Mary Magdalene: Mary of Magdala accompanied Jesus in his ministry (Lk 8:1-3). She was one of his most loyal followers. She witnessed his crucifixion (Jn 19:25), saw where he was buried (John 20:1), and returned to the tomb to find him gone. She was the first that Jesus appeared to after his death (Mk 16:9). She then went to proclaim Jesus’ resurrection to the disciples (Lk 24:10). For this reason, some call her the “apostle to the apostles.” 



 

Parishioner Spotlight

Dan Rosenhoch

On Saturday, April 8, at the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, St. John Neumann will welcome Dan Rosenhoch to our Catholic faith and the parish. Dan is our only Catechumen this year, and at the Vigil, he will be Baptized and receive the Eucharist for the first time.


Dan is a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida native raised in the conservative branch of the Jewish faith. Like many people, he ended up here due to his military service. "I was in the Navy, both in the surface fleet and the submarine service, and left the Navy as an 0-3, a lieutenant. and came here to the D.C. area for a job, like so many others who were in the service."


"I was raised Jewish but wasn't connecting with my religion. I was spiritual, for sure, and was never an atheist or agnostic, but I just felt like a 'lost soul.'" "During the pandemic, I would go out running, and I kept running by St. John Neumann. I had a lot of friends who were Catholic, and had been to some Catholic weddings, so I knew a tiny bit about the religion, but I can't say I ever paid attention to the nuances of it." "The Jewish community was one I didn't feel close to anymore, so, after a bit of thought I decided to find out more about Catholicism."


"I joined SJN's RCIA Inquiry program," which introduces people to the Catholic faith, "and the program blew me away! I immediately thought, 'this is for me!'" "In 2021, I attended my first Mass, with Mark Mechler from the RCIA program, it was the Sunday, 5:00pm Mass, and I just knew that I was called to be Catholic." "And so, on April 8, I will be one!"


When asked about his favorite Saint, Dan responded, "Oh, St. Michael the Archangel, for sure!" "He is brave, battle-tested, and our staunch defender."


When Dan isn't working or studying for RCIA, he says, "you can find me in the gym about six or seven days a week or planning my next vacation. I love the Caribbean, especially the British Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts." He continued, stating that in addition to travel and exercise, "I'm also a foodie, my favorite is Mac & Cheese, especially with lobster," and who can blame him for that? 


For anyone who is considering joining RCIA and becoming Catholic, he says, "come in open-minded, give the Inquiry phase a chance and use the time to figure out if 'this is really for you?'" "Eventually, God will come to you and help you make that decision; He speaks to us when the time is right." "I love the whole community of the SJN RCIA program; they are here for you during your entire journey. I can reach out to my sponsor, Jim Schopper, at any time, and just as importantly - I can also reach out to anyone else in the program when I need guidance or advice." "The support of the program and the community is an excellent tool for people on the journey to joining the faith."


Be sure to welcome Dan if you see him around the parish and come to the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night on Saturday, April 8, at 8:00pm to witness Dan's conversion to our faith. Our support for him will be vital as he joins us at the Lord's table.

A Catholic First    

Venerable Jérôme Lejeune


by Duane Hyland


Last month, on March 21, we celebrated National Down Syndrome Day, highlighting the remarkable achievements of people with Down Syndrome. This month, we look at Jérôme Lejeune, the French pediatrician and geneticist who made a groundbreaking discovery with Down Syndrome. He was born on June 13, 1926, in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine, France.


In 1958, at 32, while working in a laboratory under the guidance of French physician and genetic researcher Raymond Tuprin, Lejeune became the first physician to identify that children with Down Syndrome have 47 chromosomes, one more than what is considered "normal." In 1960, when the technology to identify specific chromosomes became available, it was discovered the extra chromosome was chromosome 21, referred to as 

"trisomy-21." Lejeune's subsequent work identified other chromosomal-based disorders, including Cri du Chat Syndrome, 18-q Syndrome, and the Dr phenotype.


Before his discovery, scientists wrongly and cruelly thought that one of the following things caused Down Syndrome: a defect in the mother, alcoholism, or syphilis. Other scientists felt the presence of Asian genes in the family caused the syndrome, which is why people called individuals with Down Syndrome "mongoloid" and the syndrome "mongolism." Now, the cause was known, and people could start to develop new thinking about the syndrome and the people that bear it.


With advancements in technology, partly due to Lejeune's work, prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome and other disorders has become commonplace, and this technology has been both a blessing and a curse: A blessing because early detection of Down Syndrome in a child is the key to obtaining the education and preparing to help them in life. A curse because some elect to terminate the pregnancy. A 2017 study in Iceland showed that nearly 100% of women there who discovered their baby would have Down Syndrome elected to terminate the pregnancy.


Due to his work with disabled children and his work in discovering the causes of those disabilities, Lejeune became a fierce opponent of abortion. He staunchly opposed law changes in France that made abortion of a disabled child permissible. He wrote: "One cannot protect another from misfortune by committing a crime. And killing a child is murder. You cannot bring relief to one person by killing another." It is thought by many, including Lejeune, that the reason he never won the Nobel Prize in Medicine was his unflagging outspokenness on the abortion issue.


Through a polish doctor, Lejeune became friends with Monsignor Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland. United by their thoughts on abortion, Monsignor Wojtyla and Lejeune became close friends. They continued their friendship when Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978. In 1987 Pope John Paul II formed the Pontifical Academy of Life, naming Lejeune as its head. As its head, Lejeune wrote the Academy's by-laws and the oath that all its members must take, swearing to protect life.


Lejeune died in 1994 due to lung cancer. Pope John Paul II (now St. John Paul II) visited his tomb and prayed there in 1997 while visiting France for World Youth Day. 


Due to his efforts to help people with disabilities and protect life, Pope Francis declared Lejeune Venerable in 2021—the third step to Sainthood. Lejeune's legacy for the protection of life and his work with disabled children should inspire us to remember that everyone, regardless of their disability, can play a role in making this a better world and that we are all called to speak for and protect those that need our help to thrive.



*Photo credit Jérôme Lejeune Institute 



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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”
John 15:1-2